


i'll be there for you

by charjace



Series: Problem Child ; JATP [6]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Gen, Parental Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charjace/pseuds/charjace
Summary: We can sit on the edge of your bedTell me all of the fears in your headAnd I'll sing you your favourite song'Til the pain and all the tears are all gone
Series: Problem Child ; JATP [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071917
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	i'll be there for you

**Author's Note:**

> song, my love won't let you down by little mix

It’s been years, they died at the age of seventeen years old. Luke, never getting the chance to patch things up with his parents. To never let them know he loved them, despite the way in which they had left things. Alex never got to see if his parents would have come around to accepting him, to see if they changed with the times as Julie says some people have. Reggie never getting to know if his parents got that divorce, they were so close to getting, never getting to escape the house for good on his  _ own _ terms. 

Their parents, practically lost to the wind – with the exception of Luke, whose parents are the only ones who haven’t moved and grieve the son they lost. Grieve the son the wished they said ‘I love you’ more often too, the one they showed concern and worry instead of the support their son craved.

Alex is sure his parents didn’t miss him, they probably never grieved  _ him _ but the son they wished they had while his siblings lost him without knowing his truth. He knows his parents would never have told them, why would they, especially after he died.

Reggie doesn’t even know if his parents would have cared or noticed. But, some part of him would always cling to the  _ what haves _ , and  they could have been happy family had his parents not lost one  of their children, only to lose the other nearly ten years later.

They had died those years ago, and now – their friend, someone they cared for had a child of their own. One night, they were curious – they wondered what kind of relationship he had with his daughter. Was it similar to Luke’s, Reggie’s or Alex? Or was it more modelled after his, Bobby’s, own experiences. So, when Julie was with Flynn for a study night, they  poofed themselves into the large mansion their  _ friend _ has because of their hard work. 

It was dark in the house, and they could faintly hear the soft sound of feet moving up above. Luke led the way up the stairs. Carrie was moving her way towards her father’s room where she knocks on the door, it was silent – no response. After a few moments, Carrie carefully opens up the door and then, they hear her softly say, “ _ Of course he’s not.” _

_ “ _ Something is up,” Reggie comments, he noticed as the blonde’s hand wiped across her cheek before she headed back towards her own room. He knows that feeling, it was something he did for years until he realised his parents stopped caring about him, and he learnt to hide away the tears.

The boys, they weren’t trying to be creepy, they just – they wanted her to be okay. They know Carrie and Julie have a  _ rocky _ relationship, but recently Carrie’s been  _ nicer _ , ever since the Orpheum. Carrie’s room was much larger  than Julie’s, and there was a big closet, and a shelf full of pink wigs and outfits.

Carrie pulls out her  cell phone , sitting in the middle of her bed – holding her knees up to her chest. Each of the boys, taking a seat on the bed. 

“ _ Mum _ ,” Carrie’s voice says, voice broken “Please, just _ pick up _ . Just  _ once _ ... please. I hate this. You  _ left _ us, was it something I did? Something I  _ am? _ I miss you. I’m going to make it big, just like Dad. Mum, come home please, it’s been years.”

They can hear the  _ hope _ and the pleading in the teenager's voice, tears forming in their own eyes as they hear the sob that breaks through the young girls' lips. Phone disregarded to the side, and she starts to sing lightly. Lyrics they  recognise , they look between each other.

_ Crooked Teeth _ being softly sung by the girl on the bed, the song sounding how Luke imagined how Reggie felt in his house as he wrote the song. The lyrics about a family who lost their love, and a child who is lost in their place in the world. Crooked Teeth, a metaphor for a broken family and the impact it has on the child.

“Ironic song  _ dad _ ,” Carrie mumbles after she finishes the song, wiping at the tears that fell down her face as she sang. “That’s  _ just _ how I feel. Glad to know you can predict the future.”

The boys heart  _ ache _ at the comment, and Alex’s instinct to hug was there and he moves to hug her. Luke doesn’t even stop him; they all know the feeling that Carrie was going through – even if on different levels.

With a quick glance to each other, the trio nod – a silent agreement passing through them before they softly start to sing  _ Crooked Teeth _ . Carrie had jumped a little, eyes darting around her room before going to slip under her covers. “W-Whatever, or  _ whoever _ can you keep doing that? Till I get back to sleep?”

‘ _ Of course,’ _ Luke sings into the song, and they hear a soft  _ thank you _ fall from Carrie’s lips as she pulled the blankets close to her chest. All three boys sat on the edge of Carrie’s bed, singing  _ Crooked Teeth _ and any other songs they could think of (though they didn’t dare sing any  _ Julie and the Phantoms _ songs) until the tell-tale sign of Carrie’s breathing was even and slow, indicating that she was asleep. They sung  _ Crooked Teeth _ once more, before making their way back to the studio where they huddled together and held onto each other. Maybe the boys will check in on Carrie every once in a while, to see how she is.

**Author's Note:**

> two fanfics in a row? who am i?


End file.
